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American JJ Spaun emerged victorious at Oakmont after a brutal four days of play.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout enjoyed a solid US Open. Picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
Another Major golf tournament has come and gone and a South African has failed to lift the trophy.
America’s JJ Spaun was victorious at a wet Oakmont on Sunday, for his first Major title, beating Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre by two strokes.
Only two South Africans made the halfway cut, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Thriston Lawrence, and while they didn’t win or even finish in the top 10, they shared a place for 12th with a few others golfers and will still bank big cheques in the coming days.
The two other South Africans in the field, Erik van Rooyen and Jacques Kruyswijk, missed the halfway cut.
The last time a South African won a Major was in 2012, when Ernie Els triumphed at the Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes.
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Lawrence was in the hunt throughout the four rounds at Oakmont, while Bezuidenhout was also well placed during the event.
In the end, each with a score of six-over-par, seven shots off the winning score of Spaun (one-under-par), Lawrence and Bezuidenhout finished in a tie for 12th with five other golfers.
Lawrence’s scores over the four days were 67, 74, 70 and 75, while Bezuidenhout recorded scores of 72, 71, 71 and 72.
They each won $348,967 for 12th place … in Rand terms R6.3 million.
Winner Spaun will bank $4.3 million, or R77 million.
The year’s fourth and final Major, the Open Championship, takes place next month between 17 and 20 July at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
